his pretensions to be in direct opposition to God's revealed will ;
and his religion to be a system of impiety altogether
The Gentiles also, finding that Christianity required an utter dereliction of all their false gods, and at the same time pre- sented to them no visible object of worship, accounted all its professors atheists. They knew indeed that Christians wor- shipped Him who died for them on Mount Calvary : but that seemed only to add folly to impiety; since to regard him as a God and a Saviour, who, to all appearance, was not even able to save himself, was an act of absurdity, in their eyes, bor- dering on madness ]
2. As injurious to mankind — [To individuals it was supposed to be a source of distrac- tion to the mind, and of immorality in the life. Even the Head of this religion, the despised Nazarene, was thought to be "beside himself;" nor were his followers in any better plight; since they professed to turn their backs upon all visible good, and to follow a good that was invisible. Moreover, in the midst of these high pretensions, they were supposed to be addicted to all manner of licentious habits, even such as the Gentiles themselves scarcely ventured to indulge a.
To families, this religion was considered as a source of in- calculable mischief; since, wherever it came, it set the nearest relatives against each other, as even the Founder of it himself had declared it would b.
It was hostile also to the welfare of the state. It inculcated many things which the Roman laws forbad, and prohibited many things which they enjoined. It set up a king above Caesar himself0. "Was such a religion as this to be tolerated ? No: every sensible governor would give the same direction respecting it, as Haman gave in relation to the Jews ; that it ought to be banished from the face of the earth d.]
But, now that Christianity is established, does the same prejudice against it remain? Let us inquire into this matter, and see,
II. How far it meets with similar treatment at this day—
The name of Christianity is still odious among millions of the human race ; and, even among those who call themselves Christians, the true Gospel is disapproved and detested by multitudes, who are
a 1 Pet. ii. 12. andiii. 16. t> Matt. x. 34— 36.
c Acts xvi. 20, 21. and xvii. 6, 7. and xxiv. 5, 6. d Esth. iii. 8, 9.